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Sunday Ramblings & Considerations: 25-NOV-12

In this edition: Discover The Sea Life from D.C.; consider tracks from Sunglasses and Total Control; and watch videos from City and The Sea and Port Isla.

Discover: The Sea Life

Often we are sent material from bands, PR firms and record labels, who want a plug or a feature in a post. Sometimes we find artists through pure luck or maybe because we’re frequently mining sites like Bandcamp and SoundCloud for new sounds. Today’s feature fits the case of the latter. We’d like you to meet The Sea Life.

On their first full-length recording, The Basements, The Sea Life do not sound anything like basement musicians. It’s evident that the DC area quintet are post-rock connoisseurs: adding a dash of dream pop with a pinch of fuzz, topping with a bit of jangle, and then wash the palate with a shoegaze sorbet. This ability to vary genre provides a nice flow to the album, avoiding dull spots that often plague self-released recordings. The band acknowledge and likely benefit from Tommy Sherrod of Full Glass Records, as he helped with recording, mixing, performing, and producing The Basements. Fittingly, the album draws its name from its recording locations: the basements of the band and Sherrod.

Consider These:

Sunglasses“Blessing”“Cold Shoulder”from Wildlife out digitally on Mush Records
Sunglasses have a penchant for creating bright, buoyant pop that elates with harmonies and hook-driven melodies. The Brooklyn-based duo’s second release dropped digitally on November 13. It’s marked by complex layers of instruments, sounding as if a five or six piece act recorded it.

“Blessing”

“Cold Shoulder” (free download)

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Total Control – “Scene from a Marriage”from 7″ single b/w “Contract”out now on Subpop
Total Control’s Henge Beat LP pays dividends as the boys move to Sub Pop for this follow up single. “Scene from a Marriage” is a bit more post-punk anthem than burner, but still appeals to fans of their debut release.

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Videos, videos, videos…

City and The Sea – “Strange Feeling”single from Action Figuresout early 2013
The Toronto rockers are apparently under siege in this video, but prove too much for their would be assailants. Why? because they rock HARD. Seriously, this is a fun band with a big sound. Turn up the volume and play your best air guitar. Go get a free download of the single here.

Port Isla – “Sinking Ship”Single
Five-piece nu-folk outfit out of Norwich (UK). “Sinking Ship” is about as full of life as you can get. Nice harmonies, better arrangement, and it has a bridge! Great songwriting if you ask me. Get the single as a free download here.